Effects of Verbal Reprimands on Targeted and Untargeted Stereotypy

Abstract

Results of brief functional analyses indicated that motor and vocal stereotypy persisted in the absence of social consequences for five participants diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Subsequently, effects of a stimulus control procedure involving contingent reprimands for each participant's higher probability (targeted) stereotypy were evaluated. Results indicated that contingent verbal reprimands (i) decreased the targeted stereotypy for all five participants, (ii) decreased the untargeted stereotypy for two of five participants, and (iii) increased the untargeted stereotypy for one of five participants. Although response suppression was not achieved for any participant, three participants maintained low levels of the target stereotypy with one or two reprimands during 5-min sessions. Furthermore, two of those participants maintained near-zero levels of motor and vocal stereotypy during 10-min sessions. These findings suggest that signaled verbal reprimands may be a practical intervention for reducing stereotypy in some children with ASD. Some limitations of the findings and areas of future research are briefly discussed.

Effects of multiple versus chained schedules on stereotypy and item engagement

“…These two outcomes have not previously been demonstrated together. These results extend the work of Cook et al (), Doughty et al (), O'Connor et al (), and Rapp et al () by measuring and increasing appropriate item engagement while gaining stimulus control of stereotypy. We believe these data also emphasize the importance of contingent access to stereotypy when one attempts to establish stimulus control of automatically reinforced stereotypy.…”

“…Interventions to establish stimulus control of stereotypy and increase appropriate item engagement have been evaluated in two different literatures. Several studies have examined stimulus control of stereotypy via schedule‐correlated stimuli but without measuring or strengthening item engagement (e.g., Cook, Rapp, Gomes, Frazer, & Lindblad, ; Conroy, Asmus, Sellers, & Ladwig, ; Doughty et al, ; Haley, Heick, & Luiselli, ; O'Connor, Prieto, Hoffmann, DeQuinzio, & Taylor, ; Piazza, Hanley, & Fisher, ; Rapp, Patel, Ghezzi, O'Flaherty, & Titterington, ). Likewise, some studies have examined contingent access to stereotypy as a reinforcer for item engagement (i.e., completion of academic demands or appropriate engagement with leisure materials) but without the use of correlated stimuli to establish stimulus control (e.g., Charlop, Kurtz, & Casey, ; Hanley et al, ; Potter et al, ).…”

“…However, measures of appropriate engagement are typically not reported in studies that examine stimulus control of stereotypy. For example, Cook, Rapp, Gomes, Frazer, and Lindblad () noted that a lack of appropriate alternative activities during the S– component was a limitation of their procedure; these authors recommended that additional research evaluate stimulus control of stereotypy concurrently with measures of appropriate engagement. Some authors have reported providing specific appropriate activities during S– components (e.g., O'Connor et al, ; Rapp et al, ), but they did not collect data on engagement with those activities.…”

A simple intervention for stereotypical engagement with an augmentative alternative communicative device

“…This study extends the literature by providing a simple intervention for problem behavior that emerged as a byproduct of another behavioral intervention (i.e., functional communication training). Results from this study also add to the growing literature about the effects of interventions on a specific, targeted stereotypy on nontargeted stereotypy (e.g., Cook, Rapp, Gomes, Frazer, & Lindblad, ; Rapp, Cook, McHugh, & Mann, ). Specifically, results show that Mason engaged in higher levels of laughing when object stereotypy produced auditory stimulation (i.e., automatic reinforcement) than when it did not.…”

Effects of auditory stimulation on stereotypy displayed by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders: A response to Schwartz, Ayres, and Douglas (2017)

“…At least two other studies have shown that one or more forms of motor stereotypy occur only when auditory stimulation is present. Cook, Rapp, Gomes, Frazer, and Lindblad (2014) showed that an adolescent female with ASD displayed high levels of body rocking and low levels of hand flapping when music was present. Likewise, Gehrman, Wilder, Forton, and Albert (2017) found that a 6-year-old male with ASD displayed hand flapping when he had access to TV or videos.…”